SOCCER SHORTS

Agencies

Fri, Apr 05, 2013 - Page 18

CONCACAF

Monterrey beat Galaxy

Humberto Suazo and Aldo de Nigris scored late goals to lead Mexican side Monterrey to a 2-1 lead over the LA Galaxy in the first leg of the CONCACAF Champions League semi-finals on Wednesday. A.J. DeLaGarza opened the scoring for the Galaxy in the 28th minute, before Suazo knocked home a rebound in the 82nd and de Nigris beat Galaxy ’keeper Carlo Cudicini to a headed pass from Guillermo Madrigal in stoppage-time. Monterrey head into next week’s second leg in Mexico, having won the regional club championship for the past two years. The winners will meet Mexico’s Santos Laguna or the Seattle Sounders in the finals starting later this month. Santos beat the Sounders 2-1 on Tuesday in Seattle, Washington.

ENGLAND

Spurs’ Defoe out for 10 days

Tottenham Hotspur striker Jermain Defoe has been ruled out for up to 10 days with a muscle injury, manager Andre Villas-Boas said on Wednesday. It means that he missed the first leg of Spurs’ Europa League quarter-final at home to Basel yesterday, and is to miss Sunday’s home game with Everton in the Premier League. “If he can’t make Basel away, he should be fit in the week when we prepare to play Manchester City,” Villas-Boas said. “It is a big blow ... He is a big miss and has shown tremendous quality this season.”

FRANCE

Brest’s director takes reins

French Ligue 1 strugglers Stade Brestois 29 have handed the reins of the first team to sporting director Corentin Martins for the remainder of the season, president Michel Guyot told reporters on Wednesday. Martins steps into the void left by Landry Chavin, who was sacked on Tuesday after a run of one win in 10 games left the Brittany side in the relegation zone. Martins, a former French international who played for Brest between 1988 and 1991, has taken charge twice before. He took over for the final five games of 2011-2012, keeping Brest in Ligue 1 after Alex Dupont was sacked. Chauvin became the fourth managerial casualty of the season in Ligue 1, with Evian Thonon Gaillard, AC Ajaccio and AS Nancy-Lorraine also having parted company with their managers.

FRANCE

PSG furious over Silva slurs

Paris Saint-Germain threatened action against Joey Barton on Wednesday after the Olympique de Marseille midfielder likened PSG’s Brazilian defender Thiago Silva to a transsexual and called him an “overweight ladyboy.” “These attacks are serious and go beyond a simple verbal clash,” the Ligue 1 leaders said in a statement. “Thiago Silva and PSG reserve their right to take any necessary action.” English bad boy Barton, who has more than 2 million followers on Twitter, used the site to insult Silva with messages that drew condemnation from gay activists. Barton has been involved in an ongoing spat with Thiago Silva this week following disparaging comments the Briton made about some of the PSG player’s teammates. Marseille manager Elie Baup told a news conference that his responsibility did not extend further than the pitch, and the French Football Federation said its Ethics Committee would not take action for the same reason. Barton arrived in France on loan from Queens Park Rangers following a colorful career in England during which he spent two-and-a-half months in prison for assault. At the time of the attack, he was on bail for attacking former Manchester City teammate Ousmane Dabo. He also stubbed out a cigar in the eye of a youth player at the club in 2004.